To think that huskies and malamutes have become the new Staffies?

This is something that concerns me greatly. Over the past year or so I've noticed an explosion in the numbers of people who own Huskies and Malamutes. I live near a block of council flats and there are at least four or five husky/malamute types of dog living there at the moment.

Obviously people can own whatever dog they like, but I have to question the mentality of someone who purchases a large working dog when they live in a pokey flat with no garden? It concerns me greatly as these dogs need a ot of exercise, probably more so than any other breed in fact as they were bread to pull sledges across the arctic. It worries me because it's quite clear people have taken them on without doing their research and realising just how much care they need.

I don't want to sound like a massive snob, but these new owners seem to be the kind of people who a few years ago would have opted for a Staffy instead. Animal shelters are full of them, give it a few years and they'll be full of husky type dogs instead...

When we were in the market for a dog, so to speak, we got in touch with a lot of rescue places and did a fair bit of research. There were heaps of huskies around then, about two years ago, but we were told we were unsuitable - we live in a rural area, have lots of garden, can walk a dog off lead any time in the hills or woods, there's someone at home pretty much all the time. The reason they gave was that we vastly underestimated how much exercise they needed - we thought about two to three hours a day.

So, while you will get lambasted for the council flats comment, I do think you're right that they are fashionable and no doubt there are many who don't appreciate the demands.

(Actually, someone whose child goes to the same school as mine got a husky at the same time as we got our puppy. She only lasted six months with it, then got a labrador puppy a couple of days after she sold the husky .)

YANBU - I've noticed this near my parents' home and it is really sad. Huskies and Malamutes are inappropriate dogs for most lifestyles - not only do they need a lot of exercise, but their recall is terrible so you can't just let them run around off-leash in the average park. I know some very fit people who still can't keep up with their dogs' exercise needs, and do a combination of taking them to athletics classes and also driving miles in order to stand in the centre of a large field with a bungee-style leash attached to their belts and their dogs at all times.

An flat is not an appropriate place to keep a husky. Many people who own them are not experienced enough to keep them properly and most experienced dog owners would shy away from owning one. They are a huge responsibility and require far more work than your average mutt.

I saw a man on the beach last week running like the clappers, with a contraption around his waist and two Huskies running in front of him. Far as I'm concerned, Huskies and Malamutes should only be owned by people like this, certainly not by throat in flats or people who take leisurely strolls.

I was thinking exactly the same thing yesterday. There are lots of huskies near us (we live about 300 m from a beach) and they do seem to have become very fashionable. And I agree their recall seems terrible. None of the huskies I see are allowed off lead as their owners say they don't come back!!!

YANBU. Gorgeous, smart dogs but as said, require far more work than most people are able to handle. We have a rescue husky in the village, it was originally sold to a little old lady, living in a tiny flat, as her first dog. Unsurprisingly, she re-homed the husky after it had eaten the flat.

I absolutely love huskies and would have one in a flash if I thought we were the right family for one. However, they are working dogs and even with a garden you need; a very high fence, they are fit and like to escape; someone willing to run with them or sled with them, hours a day; be willing to have a house two inches thick in hair because they 'blow' their coat rather than gently shedding; not have other pets (they can have little 'prey' issues); the patience of a saint as they have crappy recall; all the other things you need with any dog. Much more than we can cope with and we have a garden, a runner in the family and masses of outdoor space around us.

The problem is that some people do next to no thinking about what they need for an average mutt never mind a specific breed.

They are gorgeous animals, but they need to be treated like a working dog or they will end up behaving in a way that people deem to be bad or dangerous. It won't be their fault, because their needs won't be being met and their warning signs will be ignored, and then because they were failed by a human being, they'll be deigned a risk to other human beings and get a bad name.

YANBU we have a mal and she's walked 3 or 4 times a day. I have a horse as well and we'll often be out for 4 hours in the summer just walking.

I already know someone who has a mal and the poor thing is never walked, or even socialised with. As a result it's aggressive and completely unsocialised. My DH was asked by them if he wanted the dog but I'm afraid I put my foot down as we'd just had dd and there was no way I was having an unfamiliar aggressive dog in my house.

I so wish people stopped thinking about their egos when getting a dog. It pisses me right off.

YANBU and it's a damn shame. They're gorgeous dogs and need to be extensively worked, exercised and stimulated. An ego boosting trot round the block doesn't cut it for this breed. I think you're right, expect to see lots in shelters in a couple of years time.

I see a lady most mornings as I'm walking my dog who has a rottie (beautiful and very docile but strong) and a husky. They definitely take her for a walk!! She and her partner have another rottie too but the partner has to walk him separately as he is such a puller on the lead. All beautiful dogs and lovely, caring owners but not sure they are suitable for a flat (the owner volunteered this info, I didn't ask!)

YANBU, but the difference is that an abandoned city Staffie potentially has lots of suitably homes once people get over the image problemThey are low-maintenance dogs who can happily find another city home or country home.

Huskies and mals, on the other hand, are totally and utterly unsuited to city living, but also to a lot of the rural homes that would technically be able to give them exercise. They aren't good around livestock, they aren't good off the lead, they need a very specific type of home.

In a few years time, the rescues probably won't be overflowing with them, because they will getting put down rather than spending years at a time waiting to be rehomed